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India - a journey to me

January - February 2024
India - coming face to face with my heritage. Meeting old friends and new. A creative Odessa with a horse or two thrown into the mix. Read more
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  • TravelerIndia - a journey to me
    34
    Day 12

    Fort Kochi

    January 17 in India ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    A challenging but fun morning sketching down by the sea watching the fishermen cleaning their nets and the fish vendors gutting and cleaning them to sell. A feast for the birds. The hooded crows were the only ones brave and cheeky enough to venture up close. Almost too close at times pooping generously on those within firing range. Really quite chuffed with my first drawing. Juicy colours in the second but more variation needed.

    We are quite the spectacle wherever we sit and draw. People are curious to see what we are doing. Not sure if it’s the sketching or the colour of our skin - well maybe not so much mine. There’s a curiosity on both sides.

    Tasty but somewhat hurried lunch at Fusion. Seemed strange listening to Bob Marley whilst sitting in a small eatery in Fort Kochi. Well, why not. Music has no boundaries.

    Goats in the road, men in dhotis - (think that’s what they’re called) and Tuk tuks aplenty.

    Can’t believe tomorrow is our last day with Zainab and Suhita. It’s been a blast. The crunch will come when I head off to Rajastahn on my own.    Read more

  • TravelerIndia - a journey to me
    13
    Day 13

    Last day with the group

    January 18 in India ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    How time flies when you’re having fun. And it has been fun. The odd hiccup - arrival and crap room here in Fort Kochi but that’s minor.

    We went to the Jewish sector yesterday, aptly called Jew Town. Not very PC and quite uncomfortable being in the synagogue in the light of the current situation in Gaza.

    The Synagogue is the oldest surviving working synagogue in the Commonwealth and was built in 1568. It’s known as the Pardesi Synagogue as it was built by the Portuguese speaking Sephardic Jews. Pardesi means foreigner - in Malalayam. I think. Fort Cochin was the first European settlement in India. The Portuguese arrived first, followed by the Dutch and then the British.

    We had a great guide. Entertaining and enlightening. Oh my goodness she spoke fast and gave us the full history in 45 minutes! She also had a brilliant sense of humour. There are more than communities, speaking 16 different languages co existing peacefully in Kerala. It has a unique character due mainly to the fact those here had more contact with the Arab world and Europe due to the natural deep harbour on one side and the high mountains giving little or scant access on the other.

    Sketching, Italian coffee (I kid you not) and colourful quaint streets. I can’t believe that today is the last day of the Mumbai / Kochi sketch tour. Suhita and Zainab are fun, crazy, talented, warm individuals. They complete opposites but work so well together. Passionate about art, Mumbai, India and her culture. It’s been a real privilege.

    It’s been challenging, exhilarating and fun. Noisy, overwhelming, vibrant, hot, dusty. Inspiring, harrowing, crowded.

    People are insanely curious and kind. They stop and chat and take photos. They also hassle big time. There is a real divide between rich and poor. It’s heartbreaking and one needs a hardened heart. Apparently it is ok for Indian people to give to beggars but not foreigners. The best way to help is to support NGO’s, buy locally from artisans and women’s cooperatives.

    Now for the next stage of the journey.    Read more

  • TravelerIndia - a journey to me
    2
    Day 14

    New day new adventures

    January 19 in India ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    Next time I’m going to bring nothing but knickers and my credit card. Well maybe just one pair of trousers and a shirt otherwise I might get arrested for indecency!

    Sad to say goodbye to people as they slowly peel away from the group. There’s an intimacy to sketching and drawing together. You sit quietly, observing life as it noisily unfurls around you. It’s strangely comforting.

    Shopping, sketching, coffee and beer punctuated by good company and laughter. Lots of it. With friends. With strangers. It’s uplifting. It’s life.

    Good fun banter with the fruit seller - we commandeered a chair for Judith and he posed for us. Chatted to school kids, had our photo taken a gazillion times. An entertaining morning sketching followed by
    lunch in the leafy splendour of the harbour hotel. Later, time alone with Little My down by the pool listening to the general hubbub of life, amused by the crows chattering as they drank from the pool.; the odd one regurgitating the contents of whatever oddity it had consumed. Charming. I’m goong to have to get used to my own company on the final leg of this trip.

    Heading off with Joannie tomorrow on part two of our adventures. Pondicherry, Chettinad and Madurai. No shopping till Jaipur she says as a pig flys past the window.    Read more

  • TravelerIndia - a journey to me
    21
    Day 15

    Another Suitcase another town

    January 20 in India ⋅ 🌙 27 °C

    Another musty room. Currently high on lemongrass oil ! It takes all sorts. I have a feeling I will crash in my dinner tonight. Exhausted after stupidly early start and long drive from Chennai to Pundicherry.

    The scenery is very different here. Still tropical - flatter, open space rice fields, open water, birds, cows and rubbish. So much rubbish. Rambling shacks rub shoulders with more substantial dwellings. There is a riot of colour. The whole spectrum - pastels and patterns to saturated limes and deep teal blues. The women’s saris seem brighter here. Shocking pinks and purples
    and the bright reds and orange of the temple women. A sensory explosion.

    Stopped off at the Mahabalipuram Temples on the way. Joannie’s enthusiasm and love of temples will rub off on me over the next five days and I shall be waxing lyrical about them. Having said that, carvings are really quite spectacular.

    Pundicherry is a mix of French and Indian. Strange to see flaky croissants and macrons in the heart of India. Took a post supper walk along the beach. People watching fun. Especially at the government rally we chanced upon. Bollywood style loud music and psychedelic light show. It’s the men that shake their hips Not the done thing for women to unravel their saris!    Read more

  • TravelerIndia - a journey to me
    211
    Day 16

    Pundicherry as in Real Marrigold Hotel

    January 21 in India ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    A full on day of colour, colour and more colour. I love Pundicherry. Or is it Puducherry. One is the district one is the town. So strange to see flaky croissants, macrons and street signs in French. There’s a white town, a black town and normal town whatever that means. The pink, blue and yellow buildings are French. The white buildings are Puducherry/French and the grey buildings are owned by the Ashram. A typical Tamil Nadhu house has lots of columns.

    Our guide was a lovely young man of 24. Originally from Rahastahn, he came to Pondicherry 5 years ago to learn French and be a guide. We had to persuade him to get down and dirty and take us away from the tourist trail. We saw temples and more temples. The Shiva temple was the best - very local and we watched the puja - blessing. Giggling school girls, a blushing bride and a seven year old celebrating her birthday. I even got to cuddle a baby. They bought her to the temple to taste her first real food. People are kind when you stop and engage with them. It’s been a real journey of discovery. There are professional beggars here too. Somewhat bizarre to listen to a Catholic Mass in Tamil. Loved the flower market but the grandmas in the fish market were quite fierce. I could take a photo of the fish but not of them.

    Poor Joannie got clobbered by a lump of ice from a defunct AC unit.
    Talk about Fawlty Towers! We leave tomorrow for Chettinad.    Read more

  • TravelerIndia - a journey to me
    111
    Day 17

    Temples and more

    January 22 in India ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    A long day driving through rural India from Pondicherry to Chettinadu.

    Initial first impressions on arrival weren’t the best. We thought we’d landed at an Ashram. Spartan rooms, but clean. Set menu - one size fits all. Joannie is trying to teach me the art of being vague - Fare lo vago! We gate crashed a private party in great hysterics - punch drunk after eleven hours on the road. The vodka and tonic was very welcome and we met a really interesting couple. She’s Finnish, he’s Indian. What a fantabulous mix.

    A day of incredible temples and the odd puja. Lots of selfies and smiles. It’s like being in a virtual reality Bollywood movie. Everyone wants to take have their photo taken with you. In turn they are equally gracious at letting you take their photos. I’ve mastered the art of saying thank you in Tamil. It’s brought many a smile and a willingness to pose!

    Blown away by the sheer. scale of the temples along with the colours and carvings. There’s a sense of peace and wonderment as families and friends gather together.    Read more

  • TravelerIndia - a journey to me
    Day 18

    It’s not an Ashram !

    January 23 in India ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    After a good night’s sleep the Bangala has morphed from Ashram into charming hotel.

    Going to ensure we have an Indian breakfast tomorrow it looked delicious. Took a walk around the backstreets. My Tamil is improving. I can now say good morning / wrlcome. More smiles, laughter, nodding of heads and bringing together of hands. We got invited in for chai and a tour of a private home. It was beautiful. Marble floors and teak wood. Met the cat, the grandfather, sister and wife. Looked at antiques, the alter, a wedding album and saw her beautiful wedding sari. She also let down her hair. Amazing privilege.

    Met goats, squawking chickens and marvelled at the riot of colour. Saturated colours of the rainbow. Clashing patterns, peeling paint.

    Came back for a refreshing dip in the pool, got out the paints and chilled. Had to laugh when we got a cup of chai when I asked if they could move the chair!    Read more

  • TravelerIndia - a journey to me
    21
    Day 18

    It’s not an Ashram part II !

    January 23 in India ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    Chettinad is famous for it mansions of which there are 5,000 spread over 74 different villages. Some have been restored, but many have fallen into disrepair. Heartbreaking to see these once magnificent dwellings reduced to a mere shadow of their former glory. Many were abandoned after partition.

    Little My came to watch a cooking demonstration. We feasted like kings and imbibes on an illicit beer

    Our guide is fantabulous. A real gem. !    Read more

  • TravelerIndia - a journey to me
    1
    Day 19

    A kaleidoscope of colour and detals

    January 24 in India ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C

    An incredible mix of colour, details, and textures. India doesn’t stop giving and I’m embracing every moment. . We saw some more of these magnificent mansion for which Chettinad is famous. They were built for the wealthy traders and money lenders and abandoned after partition when the British left. It’s a brutal legacy and heartbreaking to see these once magnificent mansions falling into disrepair. Many are still in private ownership but family infighting means that more often than not they are abandoned and left to crumble.

    I am humbled Buntheit people of India. Especially the women who work tirelessly for little recognition. No health and safety rules and long hours. Tripped over a smouldering stick, was gently scolded and then not allowed to leave until grandma‘s potion applied. I did make them smile too.

    Gate crashed a wedding - got hauled in to have our photos taken with the bride and groom. She looked beautiful despite the tears as she was leaving her mum. They wanted us to join in the celebrations.

    Hopefully we inspired our lovely guide with our own stories. They’re not so different from her own. Had to laugh when we asked to go to a western toilet - on discovering we only needed a pee it was a quick trip round the back of the building. Al fresco and drip dry. Too much information.

    Loved the horses at the temple. Need to look up the name.    Read more

  • TravelerIndia - a journey to me
    12
    Day 20

    Bindi, Pomp and Circumstance!

    January 25 in India ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C

    Greeted on arrival with fancy parasol, music, filming, ceremonial bindis and photos only to discover we had been dropped at the wrong hotel! Just can‘t get the drivers, nor welcome drinks these days.

    Arrival Take II - flower garlands, freshen up towels and welcome drink. And the right hotel.

    Just arrived in Madurai having left the film stars back at The Bangala with George fawning all over Mr Tamil Nadu or Andra Pradesh. So funny to see.

    We saw a couple of processions this morning as groups of people made their way to the temples. The women especially were decked in the brightest of saris. It’s a holy day when Lord Shiva and Parvathi are taken from the temple and washed before being returned to the temple.

    Great fun afternoon tour. The banana market set Joannie and I singing much to everyone’s amusement. Visited the main palace and saw the outside of the temple. Both are incredible and the scale indescribable. The temple grounds span 15 acres. Each gate is 56m in height and adorned with 1300 figures carved out of stucco. They are repainted every two years.
    As ever got asked for selfies and group photos. It doesn’t take much to smile and be kind. People are genuinely excited to have their photo taken with us. Lots of waving, handshakes and cuddling of babies.

    Spent our last evening with Marcelle dreaming of a cold beer only to find that much of India is dry today and tomorrow. I guess we’ve joined dry January albeit a tad late.

    Can’t believe that I shall be heading to Northern India tomorrow to start the next leg of this adventure.    Read more

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